Car smashes into Whangarei barber's shop

A Northland hairdresser had to run for her life when an
out-of-control car crashed through the window of her
Whangarei barber shop.

Rebecca Moslen expected the day to turn out like any other
when she left for work yesterday morning.

But just after 2.35pm Ms Moslen had to flee as a Ford Focus
driven by a 91-year-old mounted the footpath and crashed into
the Rust Ave Barbers.

It was a scary experience, but she was just thankful the
barber's had no customers at the time as they would have been
seated where the vehicle came crashing through the plate
glass window.

"I'd just come to the front of the shop by the window, with
my back to the window. I don't know why, but I looked behind
and saw this car heading straight for the window," she said.

"I thought it was coming straight at me through the window so
I just ran as fast as I could - I didn't realise I could run
that fast - out the back [of the shop]. I paused for a moment
when I heard the loud bang and looked back."

The car had been stopped by the door frame - but Ms Moslen's
concern didn't end there.

"The wheels were still spinning fast and I thought it was
going to come right through the shop, so I just ran."

It all happened in a matter of seconds but she reckons it
felt like it took four minutes to open the lock on the back
door of the shop and run outside.

And while it was a frightening ordeal, Ms Moslen said it
would have been disastrous if it had been a normal Wednesday
in the shop.

"We were just so lucky that we had no customers in at the
time. Normally Wednesdays are really busy and when customers
come in they sit right at the spot where the window came
through and it would have landed on them ... it would have
caused some serious injuries, but I'm really thankful the
elderly gentleman in the car was not badly hurt," she said.

Last night she planned to head to the beach to unwind after
the stress of the incident and would probably follow it up
with a glass of wine to celebrate her narrow escape.

Whangarei police Acting Sergeant Gavin Cyprian said if the
accident had happened a few minutes later dozens of children
from nearby Whangarei Intermediate School would have been
walking on the footpath the car crossed.

Mr Cyprian said it appeared that the driver had been at
Whangarei Library and as he left, lost control of the
vehicle.

The man received a bloodied nose and cut to his right hand.
Police inquiries into the cause of the crash are continuing
and Mr Cyprian said police had several witnesses who saw what
happened.

The shop would be repaired and open for business, as usual,
this morning.